


The Lily Evans Way

by iluvzuzu



Series: Second by Second [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Gen, Marauders, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-29
Updated: 2013-07-29
Packaged: 2017-12-21 19:45:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/904160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iluvzuzu/pseuds/iluvzuzu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Waiving any personal rivalries for the sake of compassion. That’s quite like you.” Lily hears about James's father's death and his mother's illness. She awkwardly attempts condolence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lily Evans Way

Lily had known about it for a fortnight and she hadn’t said a word to him. Honestly, she didn’t know if she should. Well, no, she knew that she should. It would be good etiquette to... offer condolences. Bake a pie. Something. They weren’t on the best of terms, of course, but even so--he was her peer, and his father was dead and his mother was dying. It was the right thing to do. 

Maybe.

She’d spotted him a number of times in the corridors, looking not altogether miserable but certainly tenser, his glasses barely concealing the pale purple half-circles under his eyes. It was never really the right moment to--y’know--reach out, exactly. 

When she saw him sitting on his own in the courtyard with red-and-gold scarf around his neck and a book in his hands, Lily hesitated only briefly before handing Mary her bookbag and asking her to go to lunch without her. Mary nodded and continued to walk up to the entrance hall without asking any questions or making any judgements; Mary was good like that. 

She cleared her throat as she approached him, but he didn’t look up from his text. Gingerly, she seated herself on the stone bench beside him so that there was about half a meter of space between them. He didn’t acknowledge her at all. She took the opportunity to examine him carefully: the circles under his eyes were worse, and his knuckles looked bruised. She thought about healing his hands for him--that would be almost as polite as saying “listen mate, sorry your parents are dead,” right?

“Can I help you with something, Evans, or are you just going to continue stalking me until term’s end?”

Lily started. “I--hello. Yes. I. Good afternoon,” she began, mentally hexing herself. “Potter,” she added in the ensuing silence.

James cocked his head to one side with the most infuriating grin of condescension on his face. “No, go on,” he prompted. “It was just about to be a successful social interaction, I could tell.”

“Erm, yes,” Lily said. “Well, I just wanted to... well, I wanted to offer my... I wanted...” James continued to watch her with vague amusement and even a hint of pity in his eyes before she finally spat out, “I heard about your parents, and I wanted you to know I was sorry and if I can... do anything... or...”

James’s mocking grin softened, and he said, with a clearing of his throat, “Thank you. I suppose. I’m going to be honest, I didn’t expect to hear anything from you on the subject. Although now I suppose I should have--that is the Lily Evans way, of course.”

“What is?” Lily asked stupidly.

“Ah, you know,” James returned, setting down his book and stretching his legs out before him. “Waiving any personal rivalries for the sake of compassion. That’s quite like you.”

She looked down at her folded hands, feeling a flush spread across her cheeks. “I--thank... you?”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. Yeah.” 

They sat in silence for a long while, both staring straight ahead towards the border of the silent, unmoving forest. A crow cawed in the distance. Lily rubbed her frigid hands together in her lap, wondering if now was the appropriate time to leave. Instead, she found her mouth blurting, “Where are your mates, then?”

James gave a startled laugh. “Where are my--How should I know?”

“Well, you lot are inseparable, aren’t you,” she frowned. “I dunno, shouldn’t you be... crying into their bosoms or something?”

“If their bosoms aren’t available, are you offering yours?” he said smoothly. Well, almost smoothly, as Lily immediately smacked him on the back of the head. “Oi! I’m just rickin’ around, Evans, no need for that!”

“I refuse to take it back,” she said, not entirely unkindly.

“Er, no,” James said, in response to her previous question. “I told them I wanted to be alone this afternoon.”

“Oh, I--” Lily stood up quickly, dusting off her robes. “I’ll leave you, then, I’d just--”

“No, it’s alright if you--”

“--do you want me to?”

His lips held a small smile, but his eyes were scrutinizing her fiercely. “And you’re willing to sit here with me, if that’s what I want?”

“I...” Lily gave a slight shrug. 

“Just because of my parents?” he clarified.

“I suppose--maybe, if... if you really think it would help you,” she answered timidly. What the hell was she doing, anyhow? James Potter was not her mate. How far did her pity extend? And was it really pity?--but she burried that thought back down along with the others she couldn’t quite manage to think about at the moment. 

James sighed, shaking his head. “Go back to the castle, Ev.”

“Are you sure?” she found herself asking.

His eyes searched her as they had before, that tiny smile still playing around his lips. “I’ll let you know if I need anything from you, yeah?”

Lily nodded. “Yes, of course. I--if you just need to talk, or, I mean, I dunno, I just... I can’t even imagine how...”

“I’ll be alright,” he assured her, although she wasn’t too certain that he was sure himself. “You really are an angel, aren’t you?” Lily did not at all know how to respond to this. She stared at him blankly for a few moments before James shook his head, laughing slightly. “Have a good afternoon, Evans.”

“Yeah, you too,” she said. “Or, I mean--well, try, anyhow. I--” she collected her thoughts before continuing, “I hope you’re not keeping it all bottled up. You don’t need to talk to me, but I do hope you’re talking to someone. It’s--I--well, I’ll--I’ll see you in class, then, I suppose. Potter,” she tacked on once more.

She bustled away and only snuck a backward glance at him once. He still had on that tiny smile, but she watched it fade from his eyes downward as he continued to stare at the pavement. But no, she didn’t have time to spare pity for Potter. There were more important things to worry about, like... well... there were more important things to worry about.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This is all I have for now, but it might later develop into a series of short fics or perhaps a full-fledged story if I get ambitious.


End file.
